Els Reis

Kings Arrival in Barcelona

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

I’ve been up to Barcelona several times this past week which augurs well for 2013 I think!
We brought in the New Year with friends in Nou Barris – eating 12 grapes not just once but twice. Once for Catalan midnight and once for the UK one.
I have to admit cheating a couple of times and stuffing in two at once. Perhaps this means there will be some months in the coming year that get muddled up together!
Then I went back on Saturday 5th to see the arrival of the Kings – Els Reis.
We stood at the corner of Sant Antoni, knowing that the crowds of people were stretching all the way from the port to Montjuic.
It all began well, with the police on horses leading the way

There were lots of very colourful and spectacular floats


Notice the Xmas lights above this one!

The next one to pass got totally caught up in the wire. Lots of shouting from the crowd – Nooooooo!
Eventually the driver stopped.

They got free but the lights had now descended a few metres and the broken ones were dangling quite low.
Each float that now passed was greeted with sharp intakes of breath and relieved Ohhhhhhhs when they managed to get by. The performers often had to duck!
Eventually a council cherrypicker arrived and removed the middle section

Then the biggest King could continue on his route!

The arrival of the Kings means that children will get presents the next morning so the last floats are meant to encourage sleep and going to bed without a fuss. I thought he looked quite sinister though.


I don’t know what the giraffe and the elephant were about but they were massive and magnificant


Someone said they once had a real elephant for the parade.
Thank God those days are past!
In case, like me you are a lover of elephants here is a wonderful place in Thailand which rescues street elephants and gives them a home back in nature, for ever. Supporters raised money at the beginning of January to rescue a 70 year old female who had been begging on the streets for years. In 30 hours we collected enough to get her and treat her wounds. Wonderful the internet!

And the third time I went to town?  Next post 🙂

I can’t imagine a more inhospitable place for an elephant to walk than through Barcelona on the night when the Kings arrive.

Kings

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Today just lots of photos. It is the day before Epiphany – when the Kings arrived to greet Jesus with their gifts. This is a big holiday here and in fact perhaps more happily anticipated than Christmas.  I went out to watch the parade in Granollers and on the way home bought the cake of the Kings.
I started off at the corner of our street

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

saw Gaspar

Melchor

and Balthazar

on their tractor driven floats.
Got pelted with sweets from the lorry with all the pages

almost was trampled by the people fighting over said sweets

(some people brought umbrellas to catch as many as possible)

and then finally we ate the cake after supper

This year I found the little figure of the king hidden inside.
This means I am King for the day.
If I had found the little bean it would have meant paying for the cake
But what does Kings mean?  Kings means presents!!!!!

The Resident Adolescent got a new snowboard and boots.

I got a brand new CD by Anna Roig with this wonderful track which translated means  ‘I will draw a moustache with a red pen on the photo we took in Paris’.  It’s in Catalan by the way – not Spanish!

 

Epiphany

~ Kate Wilson ~ Leave a comment

The first days of 2011 have passed in a blur. A strong virus took over on New Years Eve and since then I have been mainly in bed, on the sofa, or occasionally staggering outside to take Duna to the little square across the road.

Life in Granollers appears to be carrying on as normal without us.
Large family groups walk by, first in the direction of the town centre and later, back home again  carrying large shopping bags.  Duna and I burst out of the front door usually at the same moment one of these little well dressed groups pass by and we frighten them – me with my uncombed dazzlingly bright hair wearing some strange assortment of mismatched clothes and  Duna just because she is a lively dog of average size and people here are more accustomed to miniature models.

Tonight the procession of the Three Kings passed very close to the house – a cavalcade of floats and music with  Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar throwing sweets to all the children waiting at the side with lanterns. Tomorrow is  Els Reis/The day of the Kings and they will receive  presents in memory of the gifts brought to Jesus.  I like the idea that Epiphany is celebrated as more than just a day to take down the Christmas tree but I pity poor parents who have to think of and buy yet more presents. The people who walk past with their shopping bags don’t seem to be worried though!
And after tomorrow – the Great Sales start.

I wanted to see the Kings arrival this year in Barcelona where there is a huge procession from the port where they arrive on boats. But it was not to be this year – I didn’t even have the necessary oomph to walk the few hundred yards to see them in Granollers!